U'S DEVELOPING RAPIDLY SAYS GEORGE

Chief Executive Jez George explains that this week’s staffing restructure has been implemented to ensure that the U’s football department is not left behind the fast-paced developments off the field.

On Monday cambridge-united.co.uk announced that manager Richard Money would take charge of revamped coaching set-up, with the club moving to strengthen the supporting team around him, which included the appointment of former Colchester Manager Joe Dunne as assistant manager.

Academy coaches Mark Bonner and Matt Walker will also step into first team coaching positions ahead of the pre-season, and George says the reshuffle is the result a thorough review of the entire club which is continuing to make huge strides, he said, “It’s important that as we improve off the pitch we replicate that on it.

“The club have now recruited a plethora of people to come in and work in their area of expertise, Liz Slack’s appointment as Business Development Manager an example of that and we start to see the effect that can have on commercial revenue.

“We continue to grow within our youth scheme, the academy now has its EPPP accreditation and funding, so it has become increasingly important that as those aspects of the club develop, the first team football operation doesn’t get left behind.

“The review and restructure which has included the amendment to Richard’s role ensures that we have addressed that in the last three weeks.”

He continued: “The demands of League Two are greater and we needed to strengthen our football department. We feel that not only have we done that in tailoring Richard’s role but equally improving the group around him to support him as best we can.

“Richard has been an integral person as to why the players and the club have achieved what they have on the pitch, but I’m sure he would be the first to admit that it also isn’t a one man job. You need the right people in the right roles to be a strong unit and we have started to put that in place right across the club.

“The restructure is an obvious step forward in Richard’s ability to shape the future of the football club, the appointments of Joe Dunne, Mark Bonner and Matt Walker in the department gives Richard an extremely strong and capable group to manage.”

Meanwhile commenting on the financial position of the club, George states that the FA Cup fixtures against Manchester United earlier in the year, have acted as a catalyst at a club which was already making rapid progress across the board.

“The Manchester United games won’t define the playing budget currently, but they have accelerated the growth of the club because suddenly companies that would have taken us up to 18 months to network with, want to engage with us now,” said the U’s Chief Executive.

“We have been able to make a number of changes to staff quicker than we would have done and because of the financial stability, we are able to set a playing budget that is appropriate to the business, without having to worry about the previous cash flow issues which have been resolved.

“The club is in a good place at the moment but due to the eventful nine months the club has experienced, we needed a little time to take stock and make our decisions with regards to this recent review."

Part one of CU player’s interview with Richard Money and Jez George is available to view now totally free by clicking here.

United supporters are able to sign up for just £4.49 a month to watch the remaining three features during the next week, in which both discuss the addition of Joe Dunne as assistant manager, the coaching restructure and the future of the club on the field ahead of the 2015/16 Football League season. Click here to sign up now!